Refrigerator



Aug. 26 1924 a ATTORNEY cPatented Aug., 26, M324., y

ALEXANDER T. KASLEY, 01E' ESSNGTN, PENNSYLVANIA. ASSIGNIR El@ WESTING- HOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING SYLVANA.

CUIEPANY, l CURPRATIQN @E PENN- .application aies. rebmary c, rear. semi ne. cancer..

To all whom t may concer/n.

Be it known that l, ALEXANDER T. lilasnnv, a citizen of the United States, and a resident ot Essington in the county ot Dela- 5 Ware and State ot dennsylvania have invented a new and useful improvement in Refrigerators, oi which the following is a specicfaftion.

My invention relates to refrigeration and lo it has for its object the provision oit a novel process and means of refrigeration which shall operate upon the Well known absorption principle7 which shall be continuously operative and in which all parts ot a closed l5 cycle shall he hermeticdly sealed,

flhe single ligure inthe accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view ot niy irnproved refrigeration apparatus.

Refrigeration devices of the character designated depend for their operation upon the ainity oi certain fluids for each other.. These iluids should have, in addition5 Widely divergent "peiling points so that the more volatile duid may he readily driven ott hy 25 evaporation from the othery lovy the application of heat Without causing considerahle quantity of the seco-nd duid to he carried along with the niore volatile The more volatile duid? generally termed the re triggers/int. he any one ot nuniloer ot media, oihich ammonia7 cartoon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and water are commonly used. rlhe other duid, termed ahsorlo enta may also loe chosen from a Wide range suitable media, Water and hygrcscopic salts being commonly used. The apparatus illustrated heen designed for use of as a icirigerant and a solution of caustic potash s an ahsorhent and invention is described with reference to these lfluids. is to l e nderstood, however9 that my novel reirigerating apparatus is adapted to operate vri h any othery fluids cornroonh u used in two-:duid absorption refrigeration apparatus.

@ne of the @hiere ditliculties experienced in the operation oi absorption devices using volatile retrigerants is the escape of the volatile duid `troni the apparatus it operated at higher than atmospheric pressure, or a leakage or air into the a paratus if operated at lower than atmosp eric pressure.

ln systems of the character employing a continuous cycle, a pump is a necessary part oi the system, and it is about this structure that leakage ot the refrigerant usually occurs. To overcome these dihiculties l have devised an apparatus which operates upon a continuous cycle and which eliminates all stutling vhorses and other packing et fluid containing parts and permits all joints and connections throughout the entire cycle to he hermetically sealed, as, for eneunple9 hy Welding, thus avoiding the possibility ot leakage ot any oit the tluids employed in the refrigeration processa Referring to the drawing tor a more coniplete description oit my novel refrigeration apparatus, l shovv a distillingdevice or con` centrator at l0 Which may loe of any suitable structure adapted cause the evaporation of the refrigerant hy the application of heat, as hy nieans ot a duid fuel Tourner ll. ltogarding Water as the refrigerant and caustic potash solution as the alosorloent, it Tvill he apparent that vvater vapor or steam9 preterahly at about atmospheric pressure, is delivered from the concentrator l@ through a pipe l2 a condenser 113 which cornprise a series of coils cooled hy the einer other suitahle forro of condenser he used. vapor condensing in the coils "i3 is collected in c. tanlr it which he provided lwith overhlovv connection to the concentrator l@ for the purpose et naintanning1 the liquid predetermined level. from the hottorn of the ld is lo which leads an valve l?, p ieralcly located aevaporation tenir The opening and elo c# of the valve con 0 '.1 s l@ which los opeine#1 trolled .Toy a :dodo

n en -s valve in any suitalole tively connected to the manner. As the iloat l@ is to one end ot e valve lever .20 oted the other end to a ulcruni to the tenis A pipe :troni the upper dertien oli the evaporation chainher t8 and e ers 'the top of absorption chanoloer 23. A scnall pipe $2.2 permits small amount of water constantly to troni the chercher t8 in order prevent the liquid therein :trom loecoming concentrated as a result of seine of the caustic heinp; carried over with the vvater vapor. A pipe Eel connects the concentration tanlx l@ with the chamher 23 into which the pipe M.- entends A doet controlledspray pivthe tanlr 'lll loslotv ay secured i shown,

valve is arranged at the end ofthe pipe 24 and serves to regulate the fiow of the absorbent from v the con ntrator 10.

a ioat 26 is attac ed to a valve lever 27 which is pivoted to the absorber tank at 28. The absorbent sprayed from the valve 25 is caught in a perforated pan 29 from 'a manner commonly vin practice in expansible chamber pumps.

A chamber yis situated contiguous -to the chamber 31 and is separated therefrom by the diaphragm 32. A pipe 37 connects the chamber 35 with a diaphragm operating mechanism. The mechanism 38 comprises a cylinder 39 in which a plunger 40 is loosely fitted and is arranged to reciprocate. The plunger is driven by a connecting rod 41 and crank 42 connected to a pulley 43 which in turn is driven by a motor 44. The chamber 35, cylinder 39 and pipe 37 are filled with a pressure transmitting Huid, such as oil.

An overow chamber 45 communicates with the upper portion of the cylinder 39 and with the'pipe 37. Acheck` valve'46 opening upwardly within the chamber permits the How of oil from the pipe 37 to the overflow chamber upon the down-stroke of the piston. Leading from the chamber 31 is a pipe 47 whichconnects the chamber 31 with the concentrator 10. rllhe pipe 47 may extend cona charging connection 50 -centrically within the pipe 24, forming a heat exchange a paratus. r1`he concentric pipes 24 and 47 s ould be preferably made of such a length as to secure the maximum heating of theweak solution in the pipe 47 and a maximum cooling of the strong solutlon 1n the pipe 24. rIhis can be accomplished bycoiling the concentric pipes 24 and 47 in any suitable manner. A portion of the pipe 24 may also be provided with spaced annular discs 48 which serve to increase the heat `transmitting surface and hence to cool further the strong solution flowing through the pipe 24.

The concentrator 10 may be supplied with which is closed by a suitable cap 51. The evaporation tank 18 may also be provided with a pump connec- *tionv 53 in which is. located an outwardly o ening check valve 54. The connection is c osed by a cap 55.

Having described the arrangement of an necessary for the evaporation is apparatus embodying my invention the o eration thereof is as' follows: In starting tll apparatus a strong solution of caustic soda or potash is introduced into the distilling device 10 through the filling opening 50. A suiiicient quantity of the solution should be used to ll the conduits 24 and 47, the chamber 31, the absorber 23 to the level permitted by the float and the distilling device 10 to a predetermined high level. The cap 51 is then securely positioned, and the fluid pumped through the conduits 24 and 47 to insure that these connections are free of air pockets. A vacuum pump is then attached to the connection 53, and since no liquid is contained in the chambers 14 and 18, the air is readily exhausted from the entire apparatus. The circulation of the caustic solution through a distilling device and the absorber permits the entrained and dissolved air in the solution to be also withdrawn. rllhe connection 53 .is sealed with the cap 55 and the apparatus is ready for operation.

Heat is applied to the concentrated caustic solution in the distilling device 10, distilling water from the solution and leaving a more saturated solution in the concentrator 10. r1`he water vapor passes to the condenser 13 where the steam, preferably at a pressure not exceedingatmospheric pressure, is condensed, the condensate collecting in the chamber 14. rlihe distillation of the water vapor is preferably more rapid than the absorption and provision is made for the return of any excess water to the concentrator through the pipe 15.

Since a normal pressure of 116 pound absolute exists in the evaporator 18, the pressure diierences between the chambers 14 and 18 are suicient to cause a ne spray to be discharged through the expansion valve 17 into the evaporator 18, the spray greatly facilitating evaporation. Condensate collecting in the bottom of the tank 18 islikewise subject to low absolute pressures and evaporationtherefrom is at all times active. rlhe drain 22 withdraws small quantities of the liquid from the bottom of the evaporator and kprevents this condensate from becoming concentrated. The float controlled expansion valve 17 serves to regulate the amount of condensate sprayed into the tank 18 Sb that it is equal to the amounts evaporated and withdrawn through pipe 22. The heat drawn from the condensate and from the medium sur-v rounding the tank 18, which may be said to be the cold body of the refrigeration apparatus.

The water vapor passes I Ifrom the tank 18 to the absorber 23 where it is absorbed 1n a strong caustic solution. rfhe caustic solution from the concentrator` 1.0 enters the absorber through the pipe 24 and the floatcontrolled spray valve 25. l Provision is lll) tilling device any excess condensed refrigerating agent, an the condensate, an absorber receiving vapors from the evaporator and concentrated liquor fromthe dist-illing device and means for returning the weakened liquor from the absorber to the distilling device.

4. ln an absorption refrigeration system, the combination of a distilling device, means for condensing the refrigerating agent distilled therein, means for returning to the distilling device any excess condensed refrigerating agent, an evaporator for vaporizing the condensate, an absorber receiving vapors from the evaporator, means for cooling the concentrated liquor during its assage from t e distilling device to the absorber and eans for returning the weakened liquort from the absorber to the distilling device.

l'5. In an absorption refrigeration system, the combination of a distilling device, means for condensing the refrigerating agent distilled therein, means for returning to the distilling frigerating agent, an evaporator itor vaevaporator for vaporizing distilhng device,

device any excess condensed re- A orizing the condensate,'an absorber receivmg vapors :from the evaporator, means for cooling the concentrated li nor during its passage from the distilling evice to the absorber and for heating the weakened liquor durin its passage trom the absorber to the distilhng device.

6. 1n an absorption refrigeration system, the combination of a distilling device, means for condensing the refrigerating agent means for returning to the tilled therein, distilling device any excess condensed rerigerating' agent, an evaporator for vaorizing the condensate, an absorber receiving vapors from the evaporator, means for cooling the concentrated liquor during its passage from the distlling device to the absorber and for heating the weakened liquor during its passage from the absorber to the said means comprising a heat .exchange device through which both the concentrated and weakened liquors dow.

,in testimony whereof, li have hereunto subscribed my name this Sist day of Jannary, 192i.

ALEXANDER T. KASLEY.

'sol 

